Thursday, March 29, 2012

Our last look at Orcs (for the time being, anyway) is an examination of their favorite pass-time: ventriloquism.

Unlike most ventriloquists, Orcs prefer to use formerly living "dummies". No taxidermy or embalming needed, fresh off the kill is just fine for an Orc performer. By Orc standards, the rotting and decay of an aging dummy only adds character to the act.

Called Vargrin their native Norse tongue, Wargs are described by Tolkien as large wolves with malignant intent. In actuality, they are closer related to their warthog-like entelodont (or "terminator pig") cousins Andrewsarchus and Archaeotherium,and are no more evil than any other ill-tempered pack-hunter.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

My friend and co-worker Dice Tsutsumiis organizing an art auction for the one year anniversary of the Japanese Tsunami. He asked us all to contribute a sketch for the auction, and left the subject matter completely open for interpretation. I chose to explore the Orcish culture.

Few people realize that, aside from being fearsome warriors, orcs are also avid lepidopterists. Many believe that this hobby stemmed from fairy-hunting and became a genuine scientific interest in the world of butterflies. Over 2,300 species of butterflies have been discovered by Orcs. Unfortunately, most of these species were then promptly eaten.

In the next couple of days we will be exploring the various facets of this fascinating race. Zug zug!

Friday, March 23, 2012

As always, all are welcome to contribute to the Chades (Character Design) Challenge. If you have a sketch for "The Ewoking Dead", just let me know and I'll post it below. Otherwise you can join in April 6th for...

Thursday, March 22, 2012

With the Season Premiere of Game of Thrones fast approaching, it's time to start planning your Westeros-themed bbq! And what better way to cook up some aurochs than in your very own Iron Grill apron? I designed this apron last year for my friend, Jason, and he convinced me to put it on Zazzle for the rest of you Ned-Heads.

Friday, March 16, 2012

Everett threw down the challenge to redesign Superboy yesterday over coffee. Because, let's face it, jeans and a t-shirt aren't a superhero costume. All we had was our iPhones, so the sketches are particularly breath-taking. Here's mine.

I decided to bring back the underwear in the most dignified way. Below are Ev's emo Superboys.

Superboy is played here by a young Jared Leto.

And, as promised, the rest of the super sketches from our Marvel game.

Venom has to be my favorite Spidey villain, but it turns out Carnage is fun to draw too!

Cap and Webhead chew the fat:

Alright, that's enough supers for now. I should probably be drawing Leperchauns or something.

Thursday, March 15, 2012

The Dandies tested out Marvel's new RPG system last night, and I played Spider-man. Of course, you can't play a mainstream superhero without doing some redesign drawings.

I grew up with Todd McFarlane's bug-eyed Spider-man and it always seemed the coolest, toughest looking version of the mask to me.

I also like Alex Ross's method of amplifying the chest logo to heroic proportions. I picture the spider legs bleeding into the costume, so that his only colors are red and black.

My friend Nate is a huge Spider-man fan, and he's always wearing a beanie, so the above sketch is sort of a nod to Nate. I almost gave him Nate's eyebrow ring, but I thought that was a bit out of character for tech-nerd Peter Parker.

I have some more sketches from the game, including cameos by Cap and Carnage. Stay tuned!

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Paleontologists from the Cleveland Museum of Natural History have announced the discovery of the two smallest horned dinosaurs ever: Gryphoceratops (pictured above) and Unescopceratops. Sure, they're not actually horned, but these guys are cousins of the great Styracosaurus, Chasmosaurus, and Triceratops. Neither Gryphoceratops or Unescopceratops were longer than a meter, putting them at about the size of a beagle.

Once scientists get their acts together and bring back the dinosaurs, these guys are at the top of my list of possible dinopets.

Monday, March 12, 2012

The Creature staggered after Flygor, its rotten black lips parting as it croaked, "Riiibbet, riiiiiiibbet." The hump-back dashed under a lab table, but the Creature tossed the obstacle aside with ease, sending flasks and beakers to the ground with a sizzling, smoking crash. What had Dr. Froggenstein created??

Anyone can submit to our bi-weekly Chades Challenges. Just let me know if you created any renewed frogs, and I'll post them below. If not, you can always join in March 30th for...

Saturday, March 10, 2012

After getting all of those amazing dinosaur images yesterday, I decided to spread the love and give some dino drawings of my own. The first is for my buddy Zack, co-creator of Dick Figures. He's a bit of a Trekkie as well as a dino fan, so offered a theory as to why the dinosaurs may have gone extinct.

The second was for fellow Pixar Animator Ken Kim, whose birthday is today. He's known as the anim vampire due to his late night working habits. We had a dinosaur/vampire lunch with friends yesterday, and I was immediately inspired to illustrate the blending of the two awesome themes.

Friday, March 09, 2012

I know I'm already a week late on posting the Chades Challenge entries, but I have to take the time to post these amazing dinosaur images. My Pixarian chums Cat Hicks and Chris Chua urged their followers to send me 90s prehistoric clipart for my birthday, and the twitterverse did not disappoint!